1st U.S. Bungee-Jumping Fatality Being Investigated

As Perris police sought to pinpoint the cause of what is apparently the nation’s first fatal bungee-jumping accident, authorities acknowledged Monday that there are virtually no government regulations to protect consumers taking part in the fledgling commercial sport.

The victim, bungee-jumping instructor Hal Irish, 29, of La Mirada died Sunday morning in a jump from a hot-air balloon. “Assuming the balloon is a standard hot-air balloon, those are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration,” said Los Angeles FAA spokesman Fred O’Donnell. “But bungee-jumping is not regulated by the FAA. If people desire to do that, it’s their business.”

Irish became detached from his cord during a demonstration jump from the tethered balloon. He plunged more than 70 feet.

It was apparently the first bungee-jumping death in the United States, although fatalities and injuries have been reported in New Zealand, where the sport took hold in the mid-1980s, and in South Africa as recently as last Saturday.

Irish’s bungee cord extended normally during the 8 a.m. jump, officials said. But when he bounced upward after his initial drop, the cord apparently came unhooked from his harness. Irish was pronounced dead an hour after being taken by Perris paramedics to Menifee Valley Medical Center in Sun City.

Perris Police Cpl. Robert Gleason said Monday that officials have not determined how the elastic cord came loose from the victim’s harness. Gleason said Perris police were investigating with the assistance of an industry organization, the North American Bungee Assn., which is composed of 40 commercial bungee-jump operators in the United States and Canada.

Stat Cochron, an NABA safety consultant, said Monday that a preliminary study of Irish’s gear revealed no equipment failure. Cochron said he will study a video taken by one of Irish’s students to help determine whether Irish had strapped himself into his harness properly.

Police said Irish was employed by Ultimate Jump Co., based in Redondo Beach. Officials of the firm could not be reached for comment Monday. NABA officials said the firm is not a member of its organization.

In the late 1980s, bungee-jumping grew as a cult sport for thrill-seekers leaping off bridges regardless of the dangers and illegalities. But in the last year, the sport has become increasingly commercial, with several bungee-jumping businesses springing up in the Perris and Lake Elsinore areas, where hot-air ballooning is already popular.

Nevertheless, the safety rule of thumb remains “let the jumper beware,” authorities concede.

Last July, the FAA, after several months of indecision, decided against regulating bungee-jumping from hot-air balloons. Instead, a six-paragraph intra-agency memo stated that only the balloons from which jumpers take off must be certified as airworthy.

Perris officials said that Ultimate Jump Co. does not have either a city business license or a land-use permit. But principal planner Olivia Gutierrez acknowledged that even if the firm had taken out the required land-use permit, the city “is not in a position to indicate if how they are running their operation is safe. . . . They are almost policing themselves at this point.”

Perris Mayor Thelma Wilson called the death “a tragedy,” and said city officials will “fully cooperate with any government agency that would set up safety codes.”

“It’s like scuba diving, parachute jumping or mountain climbing. I think it can be safe,” she said. “But if it’s going to be operated by an industry, it definitely needs some very strict safety checks and standards.”